Murray Czechmates Berdych in Dubai

Andy Murray has booked his place in the semi-finals of the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships, with a workmanlike 6-3, 7-5 win over Tomas Berdych.

In an encounter defined more by its errors than its winners, Murray fought and scraped his way to the finish line. Berdych, meanwhile, played the match as though he had early afternoon plans, opting to take the cover off every ball that landed within two feet of the baseline. It was a suicidal strategy against the superior defence of the British number one, who proved to be adept at making the Czech play one shot too many.

It was an unusual start to the match for Murray, in that he came out of the blocks quickly, winning the first seven points. Berdych appeared to still be half asleep for the first two games, hitting one inexplicable error after another en route to dropping his first service game. The Czech soon recovered and both players held serve throughout the rest of the set without too much drama. The British number one did suffer a slight hiccup while serving out the set, having to fend off a break point. Fortunately for the Scot's fans, he was able to steady the ship and clinch the opener 6-3.

The second set was a topsy turvy affair, with multiple breaks apiece. As we have come to expect from Murray, he was unable to press home the advantage after each of his first two breaks of serve in an oftentimes bizarre set of tennis. Having been clutching his right knee throughout the match, the Scot now appeared to grasp the ailing joint whenever he came off second best in a point. On the other side of the net, Berdych continued to go from the sublime to the ridiculous, ripping a winner and then assaulting someone in the crowd with one of his many wayward groundstrokes. Fortunately for Murray, the Czech was more ridiculous than sublime and the Scot eventually took advantage in the 11th game of the set.

Naturally, the final game of the match was not without its drama. Murray opened up a 40-0 lead and looked set to seal the match with surprisingly little fuss. Perhaps sensing that he hadn't provided enough drama, however, the British number one allowed himself to be pegged back and was forced to save a break point, before finally putting viewers out of their misery and booking his spot in the semi-finals.

That was fast, Clydey! I'll say it again, Well done, Andy!! Thanks for getting it done in 2 sets & for winning against Berdych. Whoopee! xx the knee and hope & trust the kinks will work out of it this evening.

Good match report. Delighted that Andy got the job over in 2 sets. He will play better tomorrow, today he played well with some very clever shots. He played dinks, spins and put Birdy in all sorts of trouble. Also I was pleased to see his second serve has more bite and variety on it.

Quoting Clydey - "Berdych appeared to still be half asleep for the first two games, hitting one inexplicable error after another"I think he was in shock that Andy was as you said "out of the blocks quickly", in other words, already "there" ahead of him.

Despite his difficulty in winning the final point, Murray wasn’t worried or frustrated.

"In my whole career on the tour, I don't know how many matches I've played, I think I've only lost one match where I served for it, two max," he said. "That's one thing I've always been very comfortable with, closing matches out."

"I thought tactically I did well for a set and a half. I created a lot of chances in the second set, but kind of gave them back to him. But I just hung in at the end. I fought and scrambled and did what I had to do to win."

Berdych was disappointed to lose such a close match, saying, "Well, actually it wasn't one of the good matches from me. I was struggling and was fighting so much on my serve, and that was actually the problem of all the match. With a player like Andy, it's tough."

"You have to serve well then to be winning at least easier your service games and then have some chance to make some more pressure on his serve, try to build only break points and some chances. I mean, there was definitely a place for improvement."

In the interview he says his knee problem is annoying, but not serious. Something that comes and goes.

Despite his difficulty in winning the final point, Murray wasn’t worried or frustrated.

"In my whole career on the tour, I don't know how many matches I've played, I think I've only lost one match where I served for it, two max," he said. "That's one thing I've always been very comfortable with, closing matches out."

"I thought tactically I did well for a set and a half. I created a lot of chances in the second set, but kind of gave them back to him. But I just hung in at the end. I fought and scrambled and did what I had to do to win."

Berdych was disappointed to lose such a close match, saying, "Well, actually it wasn't one of the good matches from me. I was struggling and was fighting so much on my serve, and that was actually the problem of all the match. With a player like Andy, it's tough."

"You have to serve well then to be winning at least easier your service games and then have some chance to make some more pressure on his serve, try to build only break points and some chances. I mean, there was definitely a place for improvement."

In the interview he says his knee problem is annoying, but not serious. Something that comes and goes.

In short, a 90% Andy will always beat a 100% Berdych. The fact that Berdych was also was at 90% made it a straight sets game. These big hitters will never crack the Top 4 - they're so 1 dimensional they have a Plan A but no plan B - Del Potro, Soderling, Cilic are just the same

First, I was pleased to see Andy put in a decent performance again despite giving me a few more white hairs when serving for the match! What we've been seeing in this tournament is certainly an encouraging turn-around from the post-AO Andy of 2010/2011. There's no doubt that Andy's mental attitude has improved thanks to growing maturity plus having Lendl as his coach. Things so far bode well for the rest of the season.

Second, I know he does have a problem with his right knee, and it's extremely unfortunate that he should be one of the known 1% of the population who has the condition (bipartite patella, for those who may not already know - i.e. his kneecap is in two parts, the bones having never fused together as they should) but clutching it when he loses a point suggests that there could be a psychological issue here as well, and hopefully one that Lendl might be able to help iron out.

First, I was pleased to see Andy put in a decent performance again despite giving me a few more white hairs when serving for the match! What we've been seeing in this tournament is certainly an encouraging turn-around from the post-AO Andy of 2010/2011. There's no doubt that Andy's mental attitude has improved thanks to growing maturity plus having Lendl as his coach. Things so far bode well for the rest of the season.

Second, I know he does have a problem with his right knee, and it's extremely unfortunate that he should be one of the known 1% of the population who has the condition (bipartite patella, for those who may not already know - i.e. his kneecap is in two parts, the bones having never fused together as they should) but clutching it when he loses a point suggests that there could be a psychological issue here as well, and hopefully one that Lendl might be able to help iron out.

Certainly Andrew Castle thinks so. I've just been watching a recording of the match - great win for Andy - Castle's analysis was very rude talking about Andy whining and moaning - he said Andy fakes injury when he loses a point. He looks odd Andrew Castle - a bit debauched - think he had mascara on.

Certainly Andrew Castle thinks so. I've just been watching a recording of the match - great win for Andy - Castle's analysis was very rude talking about Andy whining and moaning - he said Andy fakes injury when he loses a point. He looks odd Andrew Castle - a bit debauched - think he had mascara on.

Let's not forget that Andrew Castle presented GMTV or some such dross for a while, so his opinion is not worth a pinch of ****.

Thanks for match report James.Got up at 5:00am to watch Andy on dodgy stream, only to find they're showing the tournie on the telly. Not live.. but who cares... 'live' to me so long as I keep away from MW.Been tennis starved recently.. so been feasting all day on a tennis smorgasbord... yum!

- Andy/Berdych...... 7 match points but a decent Ber'ch-slap in the end.- Fed/Youshny....... School dinner match: bland, predictable.. and instantly forgettable.- Tipsy/Djoker....... Mr Magoo v The Terminator in 1st set.... subbed for Ali G in 2nd, but ultimately the Bouncer held all the balls.- Delpo/Tsonga...... Despite cocky head, Tsonga unable to get past the Moving Wall.